Punk
Top 50 Songs of 2020
The 2020 edition of our Annual Report continues today with our Top 50 Songs of 2020. If you haven’t already, check out our Top 50 Albums of 2020, which came out earlier in the week. Also, be sure to tune in next week as we begin handing out our annual accolades and continue looking back on the strange year that was 2020. Upon being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some years ago, Tom Waits said, “We love music, but what we really want is for music to love us back.” Believe it or not, it felt like music did that in 2020. For me, anyway. I know that it’s easy to see the world through pandemic goggles right now or strictly through the lens of racial injustice or political turmoil. Tragedy and frustration that keeps piling on can definitely cloud our vision or color our window on t...
Top 50 Albums of 2020
As we return from Thanksgiving and head into December, our Annual Report will spend the next few weeks looking back upon the strange year that was 2020 and the music, film, and television that came with it. We begin today with our Top 50 Albums of 2020. You’ve heard it from me dozens of times already: 2020 has not been a normal year. And by that, I mean absolutely nothing has been normal. The music world hasn’t been immune, of course. I’ve spent more time cancelling flights and accommodations and trying to get tickets refunded than I actually did watching live music this year. Instragram became a concert venue, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions had no performances, and livestreams (which are pre-taped) seem to be the often-underwhelming future of live music at least for the forseea...
Saves the Day Cover Misfits Songs “Some Kinda Hate” and “Where Eagles Dare”: Stream
Just in time for the spooky season, Saves the Day have covered two Misfits songs, “Some Kinda Hate” and “Where Eagles Dare”. These new renditions appear on a split EP they recorded with Senses Fail titled Through Being Ghoul, which is indeed a play on Saves the Day’s iconic Through Being Cool album from 1999. (The band’s press photo seen above is also a nostalgic throwback.) “Some Kinda Hate”, taken from the Misfits’ 1985 Legacy of Brutality compilation, and 1979’s “Where Eagles Dare” are both given new life here with full band instrumentation and modern production. If you’re wondering whether Saves the Day frontman Chris Conley could adequately capture Glenn Danzig’s signature vocal growls, fear not: he imbues the two tracks with a healthy mix of emo and punk weirdo. It’s an appropri...
The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan Jokes and Drinks in the First Trailer for New Documentary Crock of Gold: Watch
The Pogues had a brief, furious run of success, spurred on by a genius frontman who seemed to have trouble staying hydrated. Now you can get vicariously sauced with the new documentary Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, available in wide release starting December 4th. From 1984 to 1991, MacGowan and the Pogues explored the punk rock side of traditional Irish music, reinventing both genres in the process. They were appointment viewing whenever MacGowan showed up, which became increasingly rare towards the end of his tenure. In 1990 he was so unreliable that the band couldn’t tour for their album Hell’s Ditch, and in 1991 they gave him the sack. His war on sobriety intermittently continued until 2016, when he detoxed during a lengthy hospital stay. Reportedly, he’s be...
Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten Says He’s Voting for Trump in 2020 Election
John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, photo by Amanda Koellner In case his T-shirt didn’t give it away, former Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten, a.k.a. John Lydon, will support Donald Trump in the upcoming US presidential election. In a wide-ranging interview with The Observer, Lydon said he’d “be daft as a brush not to” support Trump, adding, “He’s the only sensible choice now that [Joe] Biden is up – he’s incapable of being the man at the helm.” He cited Trump’s handling as the economy, and said he also sympathizes with Trump over being labeled as a racist. “I’ve been accused of the very same thing, so I’m offended for anybody who’s called that.” (In 2008, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke accused Lydon of an “unprovoked racist attack” that resulted in Okereke suffering severe fac...
R.I.P. Pierre Kezdy, Naked Raygun Bassist Dead at 58
Naked Raygun bassist Pierre Kezdy has died at the age of 58 following a battle with cancer. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Kezdy passed away early Friday (Oct. 9th) at a hospice in Glenview, Illinois. A legend of the Chicago punk rock scene, Kezdy had served as Naked Raygun’s bassist since 1985. He’s also credited with writing some of the band’s seminal songs, including “Home” and “Vanilla Blue”. Years later, Naked Raygun’s impact is still widely felt. Everyone from Foo Fighters to Fall Out Boy to Alkaline Trio has cited the band’s music as a major influence on their own. In addition to Naked Raygun, Kezdy was a founding member of the short-lived, but influential punk band Strike Under. He also played in Pegboy and Arsenal. In 2011, Kezdy suffered a stroke that briefly rendered h...
The Hives Announce New Album Live at Third Man Records
Evergreen rock and roll titans The Hives have announced a new live album called Live at Third Man Records. The seven-song LP is due out September later this month, but the Swedish punk troupe are previewing it today with a kick-ass rendition of their 2000 hit “Hate to Say I Told You So”. The Hives are known for their high-energy sets (which they always perform while decked out in crisp suits), so it’s a little surprising that it took them this long to put out a live record. Regardless, the garage revivalists sound as tight as hell and electric as ever while busting out “Hate To Say”, a song that hasn’t aged a day in the 20 years since its release. Take a listen below. In addition to early-era staples like “Main Offender” and “Walk Idiot Walk”, Live At Third Man Records featu...
IDLES Cover The Strokes, The Beatles, Ramones During Abbey Road Livestream: Watch
IDLES took over Abbey Road Studios for a three-part livestream this past weekend. Coming in support of their forthcoming full-length, Ultra Mono, the sets featured a bevy of new tracks — including singles “Model Village”, “A Hymn”, “Mr. Motivator”, and “Grounds” — in addition to past favorites like “Colossus”, “I’m Scum”, and “Never Fight a Man with a Perm”. The Bristol post punks also tucked in a few covers, including takes on The Beatles, The Strokes, and The Ramones. First came their dirge-y rendition of The Ramones’ classic “I Wanna Be Sedated”. Smoldering in its own sedation, the cover saw a psychedelic war wage between guitarist Mark Bown and bassist Adam Devonshire. Set No. 2 brought IDLES’ ripping version of The Strokes’ “Reptilia”. The band kept the melody largely intact, but scra...
R.I.P. Walter Lure, Guitarist for Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers Dies at 71
Walter Lure, guitarist-vocalist for ’70s punk pioneers The Heartbreakers (also known as Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers), has died at the age of 71. The veteran musician passed away Saturday (August 22nd) after being diagnosed with liver and lung cancer last year. The Heartbreakers (not to be confused with Tom Petty’s backing band of the same name) formed in New York City in 1975 after Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan quit The New York Dolls. The pair were joined by bassist Richard Hell after he parted ways with Television, and eventually Walter Lure to round out its initial lineup. The band would become an early fixture of the New York City punk scene, playing iconic venues like CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. By 1976, Hell quit the band and was replaced by Billy Rath, ce...
Sonic Youth, Mudhoney Members Share Previously Unreleased Cover of The Stooges: Stream
Back in 1997, director Todd Haynes convinced a bunch of indie rock and punk pillars to join forces and soundtrack Velvet Goldmine, his 1998 homage to the glam-rock era. That supergroup was named Wylde Ratttz, and it consisted of The Stooges’ Ron Asheton, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley, Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, The Stooges and Minutemen‘s Mike Watt, Sean Lennon, Don Fleming, and Jim Dunbar. Years later, it looks like one of the songs they recorded, a cover of The Stooges’ track “Fun House”, has just been finally unearthed for the first time, reports Spin. Wylde Ratttz uploaded their “Fun House” cover to Bandcamp to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Stooges’ second album, Fun House. Their rendition features Asheton, Moore, Watt, Shelley, Arm, and saxophonist Sabir Mateen draw...
Blink-182 Drop New Single “Quarantine”: Stream
Blink-182 have returned with a brand new song. It’s “Quarantine”, because, well, it was recorded by the band while in quarantine and is heavy in lyrical content about the quarantine. “Quarantine, fuck this disease,” sings Mark Hoppus. “I’d rather be on Star Tours or stuck at the DMV/ Quarantine, no… Please click the link below to read the full article. Blink-182 Drop New Single “Quarantine”: Stream Alex Young You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Big Joanie Share Punk Cover of Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky”: Stream
The London post-punk band Big Joanie have shared a thumping cover of Solange’s “Cranes In The Sky”. The track is one-half of a 7-inch that they’re putting out next week through Jack White’s Third Man Records. “Cranes in the Sky” is a track from Solange’s clean and crisp 2016 record… Please click the link below to read the full article. Big Joanie Share Punk Cover of Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky”: Stream Eli Enis You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Inter...
